Early Intervention for Speech Development - Yay or Nay?

Re: Early Intervention for Speech Development - Yay or Nay?

• barnwife member

  January 2014

  J. was in EI. We had him evaluated around 18 months, at which point he had no words. At 2, he finally had 1 word. He didn't see a speech therapist, because our county didn't have one on staff. The therapist he did see, while not a speech therapist, was incredibly helpful. Our county finally hired a speech therapist about 6 months before J. turned 3.
  
  J. made a lot of progress while in EI, and probably would have made more had a speech therapist been available. 

  
  

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• Fergiegal member

  January 2014

  barnwife said:

  J. was in EI. We had him evaluated around 18 months, at which point he had no words. At 2, he finally had 1 word. He didn't see a speech therapist, because our county didn't have one on staff. The therapist he did see, while not a speech therapist, was incredibly helpful. Our county finally hired a speech therapist about 6 months before J. turned 3.
  
  J. made a lot of progress while in EI, and probably would have made more had a speech therapist been available. 

  Thanks for your response! So, in the case that my town does not have an actual speech therapist available, would you suggest just going straight to a speech therapist instead?

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• ashiscute member

  January 2014

  Have you researched your state's EI program at all?  It will vary state by state so the answers on here may not help.  I will tell you how it works for us in KY.

  
  

  Private speech therapy runs about $100/session.  Insurance typically will not cover it for a 2 year old unless a medical issue has caused loss of speech.  If it's just a delay or speech disorder it is unlikely to covered.  It is done at a hospital or speech pathologists office.  

  
  

  My DD was referred to EI at 15 months old.  She had no words and was not imitating when she evaluated.  The evaluation was done by a child development specialist not a speech therapist.  The evaluation covers all areas of development (gross/fine motor skills, social/emotional behavoir, etc).  It took about 2 months from the day of my first call till her first appt with a speech pathologist.  In KY the state funds the service and they use licensed speech pathologists that are employed by companies not by the state.  So my DD's SP does not work for the state.  Our SP comes to our house for an hour once a week.  My DD is in her own house with her own toys which makes her much more comfortable and likely to work.  The therapy itself is very low key and play based.  My DD has to work but it's also a lot of teaching me techniques to more effectively communicate with her.  

  
  

  I am 100% positive I made the right decision for my daughter.  I love her SP and know if it were not for EI we would not have had the opportunity to get her help and she definitely needs it.  She is about to turn 3 this month and EI is transitioning her into preschool that will continue to help her with her speech disorder.  I"m not exactly sure what your reservation with EI is so I hope this is helpful.

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• TiffanyBerry member

  January 2014

  I would absolutely get an eval if there were any questions at all.  Why not!

  
  

  

  

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• lorist202 member

  January 2014 edited January 2014

  DS had EI at 18 mos at the recommendation of the pedi.  I disagreed with both she and his evaluation, but it was made clear to me that he would only be subjected to playing, and he would be seen 1-2 times per month.  He was seen mostly by the 'educator' I think she called herself, but later by the speech therapist as well.  I do think he benefitted from it, but I also know he could have done without it.  I think he only spent 5 mos. with them, and they were very supportive about contacting them in the future for any questions at all.

  
  

   I came away feeling very positive about the whole experience, despite the fact that I openly went along with it as a result of my 'better safe then sorry' attitude.  He had a few words at age 2, and now he has regular conversations with us, sings songs, and even counts in Spanish (thank you daycare!).  In my opinion, if you have any doubts at all, look into the state program.  We're in RI, and ours was really good.

  
  

  ETA- As has been already mentioned, the techniques that I learned as part of the process made a significant impact.  

  

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• HML5382 member

  January 2014

  My friend used early intervention for her son and it made a world of difference! They have been working with him for about a year now and he's doing so well so they are cutting back on his hours. My friend said the biggest help was learning strategies she could use to reinforce what they were learning, like PP's said. I would get the evaluation for sure and then take it from there. If you're not happy with whoever ends up working with your son, you could always go to a private speech therapist instead, but you might as well give the free route a chance first!
  

  
   

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• barnwife member

  January 2014

  @Fergiegal
  My county is unusual in not having an actual speech therapist on staff for a long time. They literally couldn't find someone to take the job. I'd have LO evaluated by EI. Once you hear what they have to say/what services LO qualifies (or not) for, you can decide if you would rather look for a private therapist.
  
  And yes, in your situation, I'd get an eval now. 

  
  

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• BabyBoyNYC member

  January 2014

  we did (it was free) and she said he was fine. at 2 he had about 15 words but not meaningful just things he knew. Anyways I still felt something was off so we hired private ($350 a month for 2x a week) and also put him in full time day care and he is doing great! He has more a comprehensive delay and repeats but through school and the pathologist teaching us ways to converse with him he is making leaps and bounds and I think he may be able to end therapy soon. I would get an eval but just you wait, I bet he will explode with words in a few months. It just happens out of nowhere  

  

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• fancefpp member

  January 2014

  We had DS1 evaluated at 19 months. He had maybe five words so the doc told us to give EI a call. He qualified under expressive language and we were assigned a SLP at 22 months or so. He is now 29 months and has more words than I can count and holds conversations with us. We don't regret it at all. He had his six mnth follow up eval and he's at or ahead for speech. We still have the SLP for another five or six months though. We are working on articulation now. I would definitely recommend it.

  

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• michelle7482 member

  January 2014

  My daughter is 22 months and I've had her in early intervention for speech development for the past two months. At 18 months she had about seven or eight words and babbled very similarly to the way you described your child. She does not see a license speech therapist because she did not have any oral motor problems instead she sees a special instructor for speech. In the past two months my daughter's vocabulary has tripled. I don't know if it's a coincidence or if it's because of the instructor but the instructor definitely gave me tips to help us encourage communication with my daughter and as a result she's talking more and meltdowns have lessened. If I were you I would definitely get early intervention involved. Since your child is two years old and only has three words he probably does have an issue with speech development and because EI is free, I would definitely take advantage of the service. I am glad I have my daughter in early intervention.

  

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• foreverapartofme member

  January 2014

  I would strongly suggest got the EI evaluation completed as soon as possible.  I'm a speech therapist and I work in the school system.  Those kids who have EI are so much better off than if you wait to address any possible delay until pre-school. 

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• TeacherVicky member

  January 2014

  I would definitely get an evaluation done because EI is really key. 

  
  

  I had DS evaluated at 18m by a speech therapist. I continued to see her a few times and DS did great progress. He was a little behind and she wasn't concerned, but we decided to keep seeing her because it can only be beneficial. I'm in Canada though and I know services work differently here. 

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• Jtiki member

  January 2014

  In Texas the initial evaluation is free. If you need follow- up visits, fees are based on income and range from free to the full actual cost. They service babies without medical conditions under 36 months only.

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• ThatWasAHoot member

  January 2014

  Yeah, dude, don't wait.  Help him ASAP! :]
  

  Little Man 1.8.11
  Freshie Girl 9.29.12
  

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• Fergiegal member

  February 2014

  Thank you so much everyone! We started EI about 3 weeks ago, and so far so good. Right now I am still in the prelim phase....so we haven't started his actual therapy yet. But he is so great with them. Thank you mommies!

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• lilmejo member

  February 2014

  our DS was in early intervention from 11 months till just before his second birthday. He saw both a PT and a speech teacher, who was an early childhood developmetn teacher, not a speech therapist. However, there was a speech therapist on staff and at one point we were going to have her come for one of his sessions, but the issue we were having with his tongue placement went away. Early intervention I feel mad a huge impact on our lives. Not only do they teach you the skills necessary to helping the kids learn at home, they also help you do know what's normal and what's not. I am happy to say that our DS went from saying no words only sounds at 18months, to now completing full sentences, it's always a good idea in my opinion to have them tested and get the help if it's available.

  

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